Rain gauge



July 1, 1952 c. c. RoUsE ETAL RAIN GAUGE Filed Sept. 8, 1949 4 Fig.

e m R C. m C

Sidney A. Sparks IN V EN T ORS BY @amm MWF-MW Patented July 1, 1952 Lounette Rouse, executxiir` of said `Cubi) C. Rouse, deceased, assignors to Lounette Rouse,

Alice, Tex.

Application September 8, 1949, SealNo'. 114592 (Cl. 'I3-171) 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in rain gauges, and the principal object of the invention is to facilitate convenient mounting of the moisture receptacle of the gauge upon a suitable support, this being accomplished in such manner that the receptacle may be quickly and easily removed from its support for purposes of inspection or cleaning,

The primary feature of the invention, therefore, resides in the provision of means for removably attaching the receptacle of the rain gauge to the supporting member, while another feature of the invention lies in the construction of the moisture receptacle itself.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, in its efficiency, and in its adaptability to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in View, and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specication proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional View, taken substantially in a plane of the line 2-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 3--3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the subject shown in Figure 1.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the invention consists of a rain gauge designated generally by the reference character I0, the same embodying in its construction a vertically elongated moisture receptacle I2 which is preferably formed from transparent material, such as glass, or the like, and has an open upper end I4 provided with a beveled edge I5, while the lower surface of its bottom is flat as indicated at IG and is adapted for positioning upon a flat supporting surface, such as for example, the flat upper end I8 of a fence post 2D, or the like.

The receptacle I2 is substantially tubular in configuration, and although the outer surface thereof may be upwardly tapered as is best shown in Figure 1, the receptacle has a flat bottom 22 and vertical inner walls 24 so that the interior of the receptacle is uniform in cross-section through its length, that is, the horizontal cross-section of the receptacle is equal in area to the open upper end I4, this facilitating the accumulation of a column of Water in the receptacle which is of uniform cross-section for convenient measurement, the amount of fallen rain being readily determined by suitable graduations 26 with which the receptacle I2 is inscribed, beginning at the bottom 22 and extending upwardly therefrom, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 4.

To facilitate convenient and expeditious cleaning, servicing and inspection of the receptacle I2, means are employed for removably attaching the receptacle to the supporting member 20, these means involving the provision of a plurality of laterally projecting, arcuate keepers 28 which are disposed on the lower end portion of the receptacle and are so coniigurated that the upper surfaces thereof afford inclined elements or cams 30, as will be clearly understood.

A plurality of fastening elements in the form of nails 32 project upwardly from the top end I8 of the supporting member 20 and are equipped with enlarged heads 34 which are frictionally engageable with the cam surfaces 30 as is best shown in Figures 1 and 4, so that by simply applying the receptacle I2 to the member 2U and rotating the receptacle about its own axis, the keepers 28 are frictionally engaged with the heads 34 of the fastening elements 32, whereby the entire receptacle is securely retained in position on the supporting member.

Needless to say, the receptacle may be removed from the supporting member by simply reversing the direction of rotation as above described, so as to disengage the heads 34 of the elements 32 from the cam surfaces 30 of the keepers 28.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

vertically elongated open-topped, calibrated 5 transparent receptacle provided with a flat bottom resting on said surface, a set of spaced, circumferentially extending cams on the lower portion of said receptacle, and a set of fastening elements extending upwardly from said surface and provided at their upper ends with enlarged heads, said heads being frictionally engageable with said cams upon rotation of the receptacle on the member for removably attaching said receptacle to said member.

CUBB C. ROUSE. SIDNEY A.v SPARKS.

4 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,101,286 Jones June 23, 1914 1,153,355 Tredway Sept. 14, 1915 2,520,557 Moore Aug. 29, 1950 1` FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 375,482 Great Britain June 30, 1932 

